The door catches slightly but a little bit of muscle is enough for Dreki to force it open. As he walks through the doorway he feels something brush against his leg for a split second before spears shoot out from the doorframe. Two of them slide right over Dreki's head and would have been fatal for a taller person. Three more spears slide out and pierce Dreki in his shoulder, chest, and leg and pin him against the door.

Dreki might have little regards for traps but the traps had other opinions on the matter...

16 piercing damage to Dreki.

"This is going to hurt you more then it will me." She will first pry Dreki from the wall, and will then hand him a Healing Elixir. "It's not much but will help for now."

[OOC: Heals you for 1d6, and gives you a +1 to saves against diseases and poisons for 10 minutes.]

Nezaglomie pauses for a moment to be a little sorry for the goblin.  Of course, I did such a great job checking the last door, that he didn't want to wait for me to check this one.  She waits for Yalandlara to un-impale him, and even winces a bit at his obvious pain.  But, knowing Lara will patch him up, she pushes past to cast Detect Magic one more time in the room beyond.  They were protecting this room, so you know there's good stuff.

He gets slammed into the wall with a puff of breath being knocked out of him. "Oi!" He exclaims as he takes in the situation. "Didja see how well I dodged the first two?" He asks through clenched teeth. He quaffs the elixir as soon as she has handed it to him. "Mhmm, it takes the edge off nicely. Thankya." He hands the empty container back to Yalandlara and turns away from the group to inspect the new holes in his clothing and body. With a pained expression and a slight gasp he sticks an exploratory finger into the hole in his shoulder. "Ach, this shirt was new just las year." He says softly before sniffing the blood on his finger and licking it off.




OOC: I don't know what to roll to tell if the spears were poisoned, and it should probably be secret anyway.
11:30, Today: Dreki the Barbarian rolled 2 using 1d6 with rolls of 2.  healing elixer.

Dreki doesn't feel poisoned but with the trauma from having spears almost as big as he is shoved through him and then Yala's magical healing coursing through his veins...his sense of self is pretty out of sorts at the moment.

Once Dreki is taken care of there doesn't appear to be any other danger as the group cautiously enters the Staff Only room.

Inside the room is in disarray with boxes pulled off of shelves and their contents dumped unceremoniously on either the floor the tables and desks. It is clear someone was in a hurry and didn't care about the mess they made as they frantically searched the room.

Maerk glances around and sees some pieces of paper half-buried by books and journals and as he brushes away the clutter he sees a few notes that look important.

Perception check passed!

One in particular that clearly held a place of importance before the room was tossed just simply reads: "Entrance to Alseta's Ring - Guardian's Way". Neither of those words mean anything to Maerk or Dreki but for people more familiar with the area: Nezaglomie, Sularius, and Yalandlara, it brings different bits of information to mind.

Society check passed!

By pooling together their various knowledge from the area the party is able to decipher the note:

Guardian's Way is the name of a long-abandoned military outpost that was used during the Goblinblood Wars. It is located about six miles northwest of town in a wooded enclave.

---

The Goblinblood Wars - a brief primer
The Goblinblood Wars were a series of conflicts that took place over four years, with hobgoblin commanders leading goblin and hobgoblin tribes to attack rural settlements in Isger's Chitterwood and beyond. The alliance of neighboring powers, including Hellknights, Druma's Mercenary League, and Eagle Knights of Andoran, eventually drove the goblinoids back to the Chitterwood, but the war caused devastation and loss of life on all sides. After the war, much of the Chitterwood was burned down, causing goblinoid survivors to hide in caverns. Isger's army was devastated, resulting in banditry in the hinterlands and the steward offering bounties for bandit leaders.

As a reminder, Breachhill and this adventure takes place in Isger which is the the lower center part of most maps of golaria. Andoran lies southeast, Cheliax to the southwest, and Drum to the northeast.

"Guardian's Way!" Nezaglomie exclaims.  "That's the old fort where my mother's older brother was stationed during the war.  I think it was shut down soon after the goblins were pushed back."  She looks pointedly at Dreki.  "My uncle never came back.  My Mom won't talk about him, and I never knew him, but his death cast quite a shadow on my family."

"Are you sure e's dead? Maybe e got a knock on the ead and went to live among a different people. I've eard that sort of thing appens among the more fragile races." He says without looking up or any trace of irony. He keep looking through areas that don't appear to have been ransacked previously.

Sularius shoots Dreki a sidelong glance, "Right, well conjecture is never helpful. Nezaglomie, I'm sorry for your family." He considered the note for a moment, "This does seem like a clue of sort. We know what Guardian's Way is, does anyone know what Alseta's Ring is?"

"I've never heard of it, but I do know where Guardian's Way is.  Let's finish checking out this building and then head there.  I don't think that the Council needs to know what we've learned until we have actually learned something."  Nezaglomie looks carefully at the remaining door that the group hasn't yet looked inside.

23:12, Today: Nezaglomie rolled 13 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 6.  Perception.

Maerk kept a careful watch while his more learned companions examined the books, scrolls and other worthlessness. When it came time to continue their exploration, the huge Ulfen prepared his shield in order to defend in the close quarters of the building.

The door to Voz's bedroom remains locked...

DC 20 Thievery check...

Sularius steps to the front and examines the door, looking for any traps that might be waiting. If he's convinced there are no traps, he starts to work on the lock.

Perception 19 to look for traps
Thievery 26

18:26, Today: Sularius Alariel rolled 19 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 10.  Perception.
18:25, Today: Sularius Alariel rolled 26 using 1d20+11 with rolls of 15.  Thievery.

After a few moments of effort, Sularius finally manages to pick the lock and the door creaks open. The room is a mess, with clothes scattered across the floor and the bed unmade. It's clear that the owner of this space has left in a hurry, grabbing only a few essential items before leaving town, likely for Guardian's Way.

As the heroes look around the room they notice that a modest chest of drawers has been ransacked, and the wardrobe is missing about half of its contents. A small desk in the corner is covered with miscellaneous personal effects such as archivist's gloves, dented reading glasses, and several alarmingly large balls of lint.

Next to the disheveled bed is a small nightstand, on which lies a book titled Breachill,
Outpost of Liberty and several loose leaves of paper. Paging through the book shows it is a heavily sanitized version of history with nothing but glowing praise for the town founder:



According to the book which aligns with public understanding, Breachill was founded by 50 amnesiac humans in 4520 ar, saved from certain death by the wizard Lord Lamond Breachton. Breachton provided them with shelter, food, and resources, helping the town to become self-sufficient. Despite his disappearance, the town thrived, becoming a popular spot for adventurers and catching the attention of the Hellknights. Citadel Altaerein was built nearby, but the Hellknights left in 4682 ar and the citadel was abandoned in 4711 ar.

Within the book and on pages of notes, however, Voz paints a different story. With such notes like "What fools to trust that lying wizard" and "The idiots put up a statue to him" she has a difference of opinion.

Her research suggests he was nothing more than an egomaniacal wizard who was trying to build a society of servants to appease his needs, and when he failed, he wiped the townsfolk’s memories
before helping them establish Breachill. She believes he did so out of guilt, suggesting in her comments that he should have just left them to die. Voz was unable to find out what happened to Breachton after he disappeared but she concludes that it was almost 500 years ago and he is certainly dead by now.

"Dead eh? Or a Lich more like. I dun trust anyting to stay dead less I put a blade tru it meself." He grouses after flipping through the notes quickly.
Not being terribly interested in what Vos was up to, he carries on looking for shiny in the room.

As always when she is fully expecting to find great magical treasure, Nezaglomie reaches out with her magical senses.

Detect Magic in the room.

Nezaglomie gets the sense that there is magic within 30 feet of her.

The sorceress eagerly moves forward, looking for what has radiated magic.  Unfortunately, when she reaches the shelf, she gets up on tiptoe to peek over and flips up a small book which sends a glob of dust into her face.  Tearing up badly, she can barely open her eyes.  "Hey guys.  I sensed something magic over in this direction, but I've got something in my eye and I can barely see."

11:15, Today: Nezaglomie rolled 8 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 1.  Perception.

Nezaglomie's arcane words and gestures cut through the silence. She closes her eyes and reaches out with her newly gained mystical senses and after filtering out the magic auras she recognizes from her companions she detects...</i>something</i> nearby but her mastery of the spell isn't enough to localize where it is specifically or even what it could be.

She opened her eyes and surveyed the cluttered room. The disarray of Voz's living space hindered her efforts, but she refused to give up. Her keen gnomish eyes scanned the room, but the jumbled mess of possessions made it difficult to differentiate between what was magical and what was not.

With a sigh, Nezaglomie resigned herself to a thorough search. She carefully sifted through the piles of clutter, her fingers brushing over books, trinkets, and discarded clothing. But as she continued her search, she realized that the disorganized chaos was not just a hindrance. It was also a reflection of Voz's personality and her frantic rush to leave town.

There is something magical here, just not anywhere that you could find.

Seeing that this was clearly important to Nezag, he gamely pitches in to search the room. Not knowing what he is looking for does hinder him somewhat though.

OOC:19:19, Today: Dreki the Barbarian rolled 11 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 4.  Perception.

Dreki finds a pretty impressive pile of dirty laundry shoved underneath the bed but other than the wonderment of how someone could live in such an untidy environment there isn't anything particularly magical about stained blouses and old socks.

Since the group is not in any hurry, Nezaglomie takes her time and goes through all of the mess methodically, recasting Detect Magic any time she thinks it might help.

Taking a 20, if that's still allowed in PF 2.  I could do a binary search of all the junk by splitting into two piles, casting.
 Splitting the winning pile, etc.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:13, Mon 13 Mar 2023.

Just to clarify, taking a 20 isn't a thing anymore. The way the system works now is that if success is guaranteed, there's no need to roll, but if there's a chance of failure, the roll determines the outcome.

Also, I just wanted to clarify something about Detect Magic - it doesn't have the precision needed to narrow things down without casting it at a much higher level. It's not like a dowsing rod like in 1e. It's more of a binary "is there magic, yes or no" spell, and without casting it at a higher level, that's about all the information you can get from it. I hope that clears things up, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

I don't want to game the system, but there's no way Nezaglomie is leaving until we find the source of that magic aura.  Her lust for magic is too much a part of her character.  BTW, I don't usually play greedy characters, but this one is.

I realize that Detect Magic doesn't make stuff glow, but given the time, I could still use it to binary search.  I could split the junk into piles and then move to where only one pile is within range.  Rinse and repeat.  But I'm glad to get the others to each make their own roll and play it that way.  We can't ALL roll 1.  :-)

This message was last edited by the player at 15:14, Tue 14 Mar 2023.

With the tantalizing possibility of magic lurking about, the party launches into a thorough search of the room and the expansive library. They take their time, combing through shelves and scouring hidden nooks and crannies, but despite their best efforts, progress proves elusive. Nezaglomie valiantly attempts to utilize her magical prowess to pinpoint the hidden item, but it quickly becomes apparent that divination magic is not an exact science like engineering or alchemy. Even the most skilled archmages find divinations notoriously difficult to wield with precision, and the party's cantrips incapable of finding the hidden source of magic.

As the minutes tick by and the heroes grow increasingly frustrated, the realization dawns that Voz has already raced ahead to Guardian's Way, and any further delay could prove disastrous. They are faced with the dilemma of committing days or even weeks going over the bookstore page by page, brick by brick, to find whatever scrap that Voz didn't deem important enough to take with her or attempting to unravel the enigmatic mystery of Alseta's Ring.

OOC: Putting an end to it because I want to keep the game moving. If you have questions/comments/concerns as always shoot me a PM

"We go before trouble comes." The deep rumble of Maerk's voice wasn't quite a question nor a statement. They had been lucky thus far so as not to have been noticed, but passing moments only added to the odds that something could go wrong.

He made for the door and noticed that Nezaglomie was reluctant to leave.  "We can come back. Find will be here still." If they could not spot something obvious with the aid of magic, then he doubted others would either, even if someone were interested for some reason.

"Come." He glanced to see if anyone was watching and then exited the building.